Something's Gotta Give
by Yuushi-chan
Summary: Beginning just after the events in the Third Laboratory, Jean Havoc awakens to find he is paralyzed. Follow the lieutenant on his journey of learning how to cope with being a paraplegic and learning what it takes to hang on to the people he cares about most.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. I do not own the story or the characters.

_**Something's Gotta Give**_

**Chapter 1**

Black, loud, screaming, silence. Pain, heavy, dark, movement. Jean Havoc forced his eyelids to flutter open. The first thing he registered was the color white. Everything around him was white, the walls, the dividing curtain, the bed sheets. The smell of bleach burned his nose. He turned his head to the right, his eyes meeting the sun shining through the window burning his retinas. He closed his eyes and groaned.

"Lieutenant Havoc," a sweet voice said softly. "Lieutenant are you awake?"

"Yes," he heard his voice croak out.

"How are you feeling?" the woman asked.

Jean opened his eyes and saw a petite blonde nurse standing next to his hospital bed. He looked up and down her form, a cocky smile forming on his lips. "Better now that you're here."

She rolled her eyes, but he didn't miss the smile that tugged at the corner of her own lips. "What is your pain level, Lieutenant?"

Jean heard the door open and close quietly although the newcomer stayed silent enough he couldn't discern who entered the room, but it was obvious they were visiting his roommate. The lieutenant squirmed a bit trying to sit up more and felt a sharp pain shoot up his spine. He gasped and gripped the bed tightly. "About a ten at the moment," he ground out.

The petite nurse nodded, "I'll get you some pain killers. Can you move your limbs?"

Jean lifted both arms from his sides.

"Very good," she smiled. "And your legs?"

Jean's smiled faded when he realized he couldn't feel anything below his lower back. He felt his heart rate elevate but tried to remain calm. The more he tried to move his legs, which he couldn't feel, the more he was sure his panic was evident on his face.

"I see," said the nurse grimly. "I will inform the doctor."

The nurse turned on her heel and exited the hospital room. Jean tore the sheets down and saw his legs were still there, attached as they should be. He experimentally poked each leg with his index finger but found that his legs felt nothing. He leaned back on the bed and ground his teeth. Jean became angry, pounding his fist into the mattress.

"Dammit!" he spit out.

Jean stayed silent, running through his memories and thoughts. Bits and pieces returned; a dark, abandoned laboratory, Mustang beside him, a piercing pain through his abdomen. He lifted the mint green hospital shirt and saw a bandage wrapped around his middle, a few spots of blood beginning to soak through. He touched it experimentally and found that he could very much feel the sting of the wound.

Before he could inspect the rest of his body, the nurse had returned with a tray holding a cup with two pills and a cup of water. She set the tray on his bedside table.

"Your pain killers, Lieutenant Havoc," she said.

"Thank you," he muttered. She turned on her hell and left. Jean reached over and grabbed the cup containing the pills, dumping them into his palm. He took the water cup next, tossed the pills in his mouth and downed them with a large gulp of water. Jean returned the empty water cup to the tray and leaned back against the pillows. He sighed and wiped his palm down his face.

"Havoc, is that you?" the groggy voice of Roy Mustang came from the other side of the dividing curtain.

"Yeah, Colonel it's me," Havoc said.

The curtain slid back to reveal Lieutenant Hawkeye standing in front of Mustang's bed. The man looked disheveled, but Hawkeye looked relieved.

"Lieutenant Havoc, glad to see you're awake," she spoke with a soft smile on her lips.

"How long have I been out?" Havoc asked his brows furrowing.

"Almost a full three days," she told him.

"Shit," Havoc ground out. "Sorry, Colonel, what have I missed?"

"Not much," Mustang spoke. "I just woke up yesterday evening. The Lieutenant informed me that Alphonse Elric is a bit scratched up but it's nothing Fullmetal can't handle when he returns to Central."

"That's good news," Havoc nodded. Everyone was silent for a moment.

"The homunculus named Lust is dead," Mustang spoke.

"She gave me one hell of a piercing," Havoc gave a dark laugh but winced when another wave of pain shot up his spine. It must have shone on his face because both Hawkeye and Mustang were watching his intently.

"What's the damage, Jean?" Hawkeye asked using his given name.

"Nothing I can't handle," he lied. "By the way, what's with the burn marks, Colonel?"

"You were losing too much blood, I had to cauterize the wounds," Mustang answered.

"I wish you'd fried me with a bit more care. These burn marks are going to drive girls away from me," Havoc eyed his commander. He could see a vein pulsing at his temple, the Colonel's hands formed into fists.

"Stop asking for so much!" he burst. "You were done rare. I was medium! How's that?! I'm worse off!"

"No one's talking about doneness!" Havoc shouted back. The pain from his wounds making him grab his sides. He turned away from the Colonel. "Besides why on earth am I sharing a room with a man? I should be in a private room with a beautiful nurse of my own."

"Please bear with it," Hawkeye spoke. "The enemy could very well come to finish you off in your sleep. Under the circumstance, it's easier to guard you in the same room."

"Precisely!" Mustang said with a nod. "Why haven't they taken this perfect opportunity to kill us? We're in a hospital where death is never uncommon. So why not?"

There was a knock at the door before it swung open to reveal Fuery and Alphonse. "Excuse me for interrupting your conversation," Fuery spoke.

"I came to see how you're doing," Alphonse said.

"Alphonse!" Hawkeye yelled. "Should you be walking around like that? Do you realize someone could be after your life?!"

"It's okay," Alphonse waved his hands. "I have someone who can sense homunculi accompanying me."

"Sense homunculi…" Mustang trailed off.

"How is that…?" Hawkeye started.

"I don't quite get it either," Alphonse finished.

"First Lieutenant, you might want to take a rest," Fuery said. "I will call someone to fill in for you."

"It's okay," the lieutenant answered. "This is my job. I'm fine. By the way, do you have that thing I asked you for?"

Fuery rustled around the inside of his jacket, "Here it is." He handed her a large rolled up paper and exited the room.

"Thank you," Hawkeye said taking it from him. "Please watch the door."

"What is it?" Mustang asked sitting on the edge of the bed. Havoc wished he could do the same.

"It's just a rough estimate," the lieutenant started. "But from my stride and the number of steps I've counted since I descended under the third laboratory, I was able to calculate the distance to the large doors beneath the lab. I couldn't tell the exact direction since the corridors weren't straight." She unrolled the map on the Colonel's bed. "So I drew a circle with the lab at its center." She pointed at a place on the map Jean couldn't see.

"All right," Mustang smiled. "Well done."

Mustang picked up the map and inspected it. Alphonse looked over his shoulder and after a minute pointed at the map. "Look Colonel! The second laboratory is within the circle!"

"Hold it! Hold it!" Mustang said as his features darkened. "There's something more interesting. The outer edge of the Central Headquarters, though barely, the Fuhrer's office falls within the range." Mustang shook his head, "Could the Fuhrer be connected to the homunculi?"

"But…" Alphonse started. "The troops that wiped out the homunculus' group in Dublith were led by the Fuhrer. The Major fought alongside them as well."

"So the Fuhrer regarded a homunculus called Greed and his group as a threat to the nucleus of the military?" Mustang asked.

"Yes," Alphonse nodded. "Although I don't know why he had to completely eradicate them."

Mustang put his hand to his chin as he thought. After a moment he turned to Jean, "The Fuhrer's the one who called an ambulance for us, right?"

"That's what I heard," Jean answered.

Mustang nodded, "Since Hues said 'the military is in danger,' we must be up against a syndicate that is powerful enough to endanger the existence of the military. We have no idea how many of the higher-ups are involved in this, but one thing is for sure; it's definitely not going to be easy."

"But if we could lure them out and finish them all at once…" Hawkeye trailed off.

"Yes," the Colonel said quietly. "I can quickly rise to the authority of this country. When I sent Barry to the detention center, I thought the best I could hope for was to find a lead on those that are conspiring with the military, but it looks like we caught something much bigger than we expected."

"To me it seems a bit too big," Hawkeye deadpanned.

"It's worth fighting for, isn't it?" Mustang gave a short laugh. "I'm going to have to continue working you hard. Got it?"

"A few more loyal officers would be appreciated," Hawkeye said giving a salute.

It was now or never Havoc thought as he gripped the legs he couldn't feel, "Er…about that." Mustang and Hawkeye looked at him curiously. "You'll have to count me out." The two other officers looked at him expectantly. Jean averted his eyes toward his legs and grabbed the bed sheets in his fists. "I can't feel either of my legs. I'm sorry. I'm…I'm out of the game."


End file.
